


Tea with Toph

by Jens



Series: Aromantic Toph [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aromantic Toph Beifong, Multi, Oblivious Sokka (Avatar), aro!toph is something that can be so personal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:41:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26779783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jens/pseuds/Jens
Summary: “So you seriously think you don’t have a crush on Zuko?” Toph sounds bored now, as if she didn’t just turn Sokka’s entire world upside down.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Sokka
Series: Aromantic Toph [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2033962
Comments: 19
Kudos: 162





	Tea with Toph

“What does a crush feel like?”

Sokka should know better than to be surprised by Toph’s question even though they most definitely weren’t talking about crushes just a moment earlier. That’s just what she’s like sometimes, asking weird things out of nowhere.

“Uhh. Why?”

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately.” Toph sucks on the straw of her ice tea pensively. “How do you know you have a crush on someone instead of just, like, really liking them as a friend?”

Sokka takes a moment to think about the question. How _does_ he know that? With Yue, it was love at first sight pretty much. Well, attraction at first sight, more like. But still. With Suki... she kicked his ass and he was a goner. He never did put too much thought into the why or how of the relationship.

“You just - know? I mean, I’ve never had to think about it.” Sokka takes a sip of his tea. He’s still not a huge fan but Toph wanted to meet at the Jasmine Dragon and Sokka knows better than to argue with her. Besides, Zuko’s on shift today and Sokka likes seeing him. To make fun of him, of course; he’s still kind of clumsy with customer service and gets easily flustered when Sokka joke-flirts with him.

Toph groans, pushing her tea aside so she can face plant on the table. “That doesn’t help at all!”

Sokka chuckles. Out of the corner of his eye he spots Zuko coming back to the seating area with a tray. He’s heading towards another table but flashes a quick smile when he notices Sokka staring. Sokka grins back, stomach suddenly full of butterflies. Toph perks up.

“What happened, Snoozles? Your heartbeat picked way up just now.”

“Wh- it did not!”

“Ooh, was it Sparky?” Toph grins smugly, then frowns. “Wait, is that how you knew you liked him? Your heart started racing or whatever?”

“Is that - I - _what?!_ ”

Toph waves a hand. “I noticed that happening back when you were still dating Suki too, is that how you know?”

Sokka is rapidly losing control of this conversation. “No, I - can we go back to me liking Zuko?”

“Why?”

“Because? I _don’t_?”

“Don’t what?”

“Like Zuko?!” Sokka is nearly yelling but in his defence it’s really hard to keep his voice down when his brain is trying to implode on itself. “Why would I- how long have you been thinking that I like him?!”

“Wow.” If Toph could see, she would probably be giving Sokka the most incredulous look right now. Instead, she manages to convey the look with the tone of her voice. “You actually didn’t know.”

“Didn’t know? There’s nothing _to_ know!” Sokka knows his tone is still hysterical but like. Toph actually thinks he likes Zuko? Why would she think that? Is she the only one?

...Zuko doesn’t think so, right?

Oh fuck, Zuko. He was there earlier, he could’ve heard Sokka’s meltdown -

Sokka whips his head around, frantically scanning the room. Zuko isn’t there. _Lucky_.

“So you seriously think you don’t have a crush on Zuko?” Toph sounds bored now, as if she didn’t just turn Sokka’s entire world upside down. “Whatever, I just wanted to confirm something about myself but I guess you’re not gonna be any help if you’re that oblivious to your own feelings.”

Sokka contemplates drowning himself in his tea. That sounds way better than continuing this insane conversation. “You were literally asking me how to know whether you have a crush on someone just a few minutes ago, how could you possibly know about someone else’s feelings?”

“Like I said, you react to Zuko the way you did to Suki when you were dating her. Aang and Katara are like that around each other too.” Toph heaves a long-suffering sigh. “That has to do something with knowing you have a crush on someone, right? There’s no way it’s a coincidence.”

“Maybe, except I don’t like Zuko! So your people-reading skills must be rusty.”

“Sure.” Toph takes an obnoxiously loud sip of her tea. “So you’ve just been living the single life since you and Suki broke up?”

Sokka bristles a little at the sarcasm in Toph’s tone. “What’s wrong with that? It’s not like you’re dating anyone either.”

“I think it’s pretty safe to say I’m not really wired to feel that way for others.” The words are punctuated with a swift kick to Sokka’s shin. He yelps, more out of surprise than pain.

“Right, sorry.” He rubs at his shin absentmindedly. “But yeah, I haven’t dated anyone since Suki.”

“And no one on the horizon?”

“Look, I appreciate the concern but I’m not sure why you’re so invested in my love life.”

“Maybe I just want my friends to be in love.”

Sokka raises an eyebrow. “That’s... kind of weird.”

Toph sticks our her tongue. “Just because I don’t get the whole romance thing on a personal level doesn’t mean I can’t play matchmaker for others.”

“Well. Can’t really do that for me, there’s no one.”

Toph snorts, clearly not believing him. She doesn’t say Zuko’s name out loud but Sokka can tell she’s still thinking about him, him and Sokka together specifically, and he’s not about to continue that conversation. They lapse into silence instead, sipping on their teas and enjoying the calm atmosphere of the Jasmine Dragon.

Zuko comes and goes, serving customers and cleaning tables; every time their eyes meet Sokka wants to make a joke like he usually does but now his mind keeps going back to Toph thinking he has a crush on Zuko and he can’t get his mouth open.

Zuko keeps glancing at their table and Sokka swears he looks hurt. Which is, you know, great. Or the exact opposite, actually.

Fucking Toph and her stupid theories, why did she have to open her mouth?

Sokka is just about to suggest they leave when Toph speaks up again.

“You’re... okay with it, right?” There’s a level of insecurity in Toph’s voice that is very atypical for her. Sokka leans forward, worried.

“Okay with what?”

Toph is playing with her straw, almost like a nervous tick. “Me not having crushes or whatever.”

Sokka would usually make a sarcastic comment to lighten the mood but he can tell this is important to Toph. She’s vulnerable, revealing something intimate about herself, and he has to respond with appropriate seriousness. “Of course. That’s part of who you are.”

He’s rewarded with another kick to the shin. That’s okay though, Sokka’s used to Toph’s way of showing affection.

“Don’t get all sentimental on me, Snoozles.”

Yeah, she’s fine.

* * *

Just as they’re leaving, Toph tugs on Sokka’s sleeve to get his attention. “For the record, Sparky’s heartbeat always goes crazy around you too.”

As if to prove Toph’s point, Sokka catches Zuko standing at the kitchen doorway and looking at them with a conflicted expression. The front door slides shut behind them, hiding Zuko from view, but that look on his face... huh.

Sokka’s not sure he’s ready to deal with the revelations he’s had about himself and Zuko just yet but he can already tell that, despite his protesting, Toph isn't wrong.

**Author's Note:**

> i relate to toph in this bc i too am aromantic and have no idea what a crush is supposed to feel like 
> 
> in other news i have literally 4 other zukka wips (one of which is also mailee) but my hell brain went like, you either write this or you don't work on anything at all so have this
> 
> self-betaed as always so let me know if you spot any mistakes!


End file.
